FirstClassFlyer

Airfares with flat-fee, low-cost upgrades appear and disappear quickly. Here’s one great exception.

Last September both American and United started offering enormous First Class discounts through EasyUp Fares: upgrades from Business Class costing $500 to $2,000.

Low-Fare Stability: American Nine Months Later

AA is still offering low First Class fares to Asia, although they’re a bit more than nine months ago, because Business Class fares have increased. In other words, the flat-fee upgrade at time of booking hasn’t changed. (See screenshot below.)

We’re seeing that American sometimes changes aircraft on these routes, adding new aircraft that do not have a First Class cabin. In July, for example, Chicago-Shanghai will be serviced with a B787-8 that lacks a First Class cabin, but in May American is using a B777 that does; while Los Angeles-Shanghai in May uses a B787-8 that does not have First Class, in June the airline switches to a B777 that does. The airline no longer offers a First Class cabin on Chicago and Dallas to Beijing, serviced with a B787-8.

Low-Fare Stability: United Nine Months Later

United still offers low First Class fares with a flat-fee upgrade at time of booking of $1,200, about the same price as nine months ago. The only route on which FCF found a major increase is San Francisco-Tokyo: It has gone from $4,673 ($1,200 more than Business Class back in September) to $17,328, probably because United was trying to undercut All Nippon, its Star Alliance partner. (When the partner finds out, fares can change through politics.) United’s lowest First Class fare is still to Seoul (see screenshot below).

Unchanged

The leading Asian carriers (All Nippon, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Singapore) still show no signs of lowering First Class fares ($10,000 to $30,000 round-trip from the U.S.).

EasyUp Fare Concept Remains Unchanged

Restrictions vary by route and airline; the fares are often valid year-round, but the bottom line is the same: The difference between Business Class and First is still unprecedentedly low—only $500 to $2,000, and available on many routes.

Comparing Lowest First Class Routes FCF Found in 2015 and Now

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Comparing Non-Stop First Class Routes to Asia in 2015 and Now

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[["Airline","Route","First Class Fare Sept. 2015","Difference Between Current First and Business Class Fare","First Class Fare April 2016","Difference Between Current First and Business Class Fare"],["American","Boston - Shanghai","$3,823 ","$500","$4,550 ","$500 "],["#rowspan#","Boston - Beijing","$3,591 ","#rowspan#","No First Class cabin","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","Dallas - Seoul*","$3,966 ","#rowspan#","$4,157 ","$500 "],["#rowspan#","Chicago - Seoul","$4,400 ","#rowspan#","$4,983 ","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","New York - Seoul","$4,587 ","#rowspan#","$5,122 ","#rowspan#"],["United","San Francisco - Seoul*","$4,566 ","$1,200 ","$4,667 ","$1,200 "],["#rowspan#","Seattle - Seoul","$4,780 ","#rowspan#","$4,561 ","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Las Vegas - Seoul","$4,869 ","#rowspan#","$4,818 ","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Phoenix - Seoul","$4,869 ","#rowspan#","$4,485 ","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Los Angeles - Seoul","$4,922 ","#rowspan#","$4,532 ","#rowspan#"]]

[["Airline","Route","First Class Fare Sept. 2015","Business Class Fare","Difference Between First and Business Class Fare","First Class Fare Now","Business Class Fare","Difference Between Current First and Business Class Fare"],["American","Dallas - Hong Kong","$7,320 ","$5,320 ","$2,000 ","$6,092 ","$5,592 ","$500"],["#rowspan#","Dallas - Seoul","$3,966 ","$3,466 ","$500","$4,157 ","$3,657 ","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Dallas - Tokyo","$6,606 ","$5,306 ","$1,300 ","$7,018 ","$4,186 ","$2,832 "],["#rowspan#","Los Angeles - Tokyo","$5,606 ","$4,506 ","$1,100 ","$6,169 ","$3,335 ","$2,834 "],["#rowspan#","Los Angeles - Shanghai","New route","#colspan#","#colspan#","$4,496 ","$3,996 ","$500"],["United","Chicago - Beijing","$6,377 ","$4,877 ","$1,500 ","$6,477 ","$4,977 ","$1,500 "],["#rowspan#","Chicago - Hong Kong","$16,468 ","$4,620 ","$11,848 ","$10,804 ","$4,984 ","$5,820 "],["#rowspan#","Chicago - Shanghai","$6,243 ","$4,743 ","$1,500 ","$5,335 ","$3,835 ","$1,500 "],["#rowspan#","San Francisco - Beijing","$6,817 ","$5,317 ","#rowspan#","$6,517 ","$4,857 ","$1,660 "],["#rowspan#","San Francisco - Hong Kong","$15,731 ","$4,418 ","$11,313 ","$13,964 ","$4,984 ","$8,980 "],["#rowspan#","San Francisco - Seoul","$4,566 ","$3,366 ","$1,200 ","$4,667 ","$3,467 ","$1,200 "],["#rowspan#","San Francisco - Tokyo","$4,673 ","$3,473 ","$1,200 ","$17,329 ","$5,058 ","$12,271 "],["#rowspan#","San Francisco - Shanghai","$6,377 ","$4,877 ","$1,500 ","$6,177 ","$4,677 ","$1,500 "],["#rowspan#","Washington, DC - Beijing","$7,517 ","$6,017 ","#rowspan#","$5,087 ","$3,427 ","$1,660 "]]